Downtown group should be wise with hire

By Steve Lackmeyer

Published: September 9, 2008

As Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. begins its search for its fourth president in eight years, could the organization learn something from the Bricktown Association?

The Bricktown Association was on shaky ground one year ago. A split decision by its board to withhold money to pay its then director Frank Sims ended in his resignation and protests by some group members that the move was heavy-handed and timed to coincide with a poor turn-out by his supporters.

But then the association, which had frequently seen battles for control and direction the previous dozen years, took the unprecedented turn of advertising the director's job and assembling a panel of property owners and merchants to interview the finalists.

While the applicants' names were never made public, the ones I saw included some individuals who were and are respected and involved in the community. Ultimately, the association chose Jim Cowan, who was selling his interest in the Bricktown Brewery.

Relations remained tense for the first few weeks between property owners, who were seen as seizing control of the association, and merchants who liked Sims. But a year later, that rift has all but disappeared as Cowan has attempted to improve communication between the two sides while also drawing closer ties to the city.

In the past year alone, the association has attempted to broker an agreement with all parking operators to create a price cap and is also trying to improve signage and education on where to find parking and to end "event night surprises” for visitors simply looking to enjoy a nice meal without paying $10 to park.

The association has also coordinated monthly owners' meetings as a way to encourage their participation in the district's development, and has held a series of meetings with club owners aimed at addressing late night violence that plagued previous summers in the entertainment district.

Could all of this have happened had Cowan been hired at the snap of a finger of a board chairman? Maybe. But it's more likely Cowan's credibility would have been hampered from the start if he had to first sell merchants and owners he was truly qualified for the job.

So instead of getting a running start — which is what Cowan has enjoyed this past year — Hamm did have to invest some of his energies assuring constituents he was ready for the job and knew what he was doing.

This time around, the board of Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. is promising to do something they've never done — advertise the president's job and weigh who might be best qualified to run the organization as downtown enters the second decade of its 21st Century renaissance.

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